A Puerto Rican native who found success in the fast lane of West Coast animation now relishes life and work in the more relaxed atmosphere of central Ohio.

The cherry on top? He has published his first graphic novel.

Rafael Rosado, 45, works from a tiny corner office in Lewis Center, sketching scenes for the little monkey, the man in the yellow hat and other characters for the PBS morning animated children’s show Curious George.

His bosses are thousands of miles away in California. Thanks to high-speed Internet, teleconferencing and a digital canvas, though, Rosado is virtually next door as he creates storyboards for the adventurous monkey and other shows for Warner Bros. Animation, the Cartoon Network, Disney and Universal.

“I’ve been working on it for years,” he said. “They trust me — to leave me alone and do my own thing.”

He has also found time for more personal work — including his first graphic novel, Giants Beware!, a story written for all ages by his friend, Columbus native Jorge Aguirre.

The fantasy stars a girl named Claudette.

“Her aspirations are to be a warrior and to kill giants. . . . There’s just not enough female protagonists out there with a strong character,” said Rosado, the father of two young daughters.

West Hollywood, Calif., was home for Rosado while he was directing and producing animated shows such as the Men in Black series from 1995 to 1999.

“I was pretty high up,” Rosado said.

But his job required a grinding 90-minute commute to work. He seemed to witness road rage “every other day,” he recalled.

So, 12 years ago, he and his wife, Darlene, a hairstylist, decided to downshift and begin life anew in Ohio, where they have relatives. The decision changed their lives and left them with few regrets about leaving California.

“I still have friends out there now, and I see what they go through and I don’t know how they do it,” Rosado said.

His wife agrees.

“As much as one would think the fast-paced life in L.A. is dreamy and/or ideal, it is overrated,” Darlene Rosado wrote in an email. “Our life here . . . with our friends and family is awesome.”

The couple and their daughters, ages 5 and 9, live on a quiet street in Worthington. Rosado’s commute is 10 minutes, tops.

Rosado was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico.

As a child, he was a voracious consumer of comic books and action heroes, and he often doodled in class. He dreamed of creating comic books and graphic novels.

He moved to Ohio in 1981 when he was 14.

Rosado earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in art and cinema from Ohio State University. He lived and worked in the University District, Grandview Heights, Victorian Village and Upper Arlington before moving to California.

If there’s a downside to life in central Ohio, he says, it’s working for the most part in isolation.

“When you’re around other artists, it kind of fuels you and makes you work harder,” he said. “Here, it’s kind of like a vacuum.”

In recent years, he has worked on Transformers Prime, The Looney Tunes Show, The Venture Bros., Batman: The Brave and the Bold, Sym-Bionic Titan and Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated, but the graphic-novel format and Giants Beware! have captured his heart.

“I’ve wanted to do my own thing for years and years and years,” Rosado said. “I think I reached the point where I was ready to tackle it.